Chapter 24
As I stepped back into the party after the talking with Poppy, I just had a lot of emotions. My mind raced with everything that had just happened. “Where is she?” I mumtered to myself, searching the room. I spotted Poppy sitting alone at a distant table, tears glistening in her eyes. As soon as we walked imide, she broke off.
I took a deep breath and made my way over to her. “Poppy,” I said soft
“No, I’m not okay?” she snapped, glaring at
softly, wanting to comfort her. “Are you okay?”
“Did you see how she laughed? She thinks she can just walk all over me!”
Look, Poppy, let’s think about how to fix this,” I said, my voice steady. “You need to try and put our reputation back together after you shattered it.
didn’t shatter anything” the shouted, her voice rising. “Joanne did this to herself!”
“Poppy, stop“” I said, frustration growing “We need to be better than this. You can’t act like this and expect to be taken seriously.
“Why should I care about her?” Poppy asked, crossing her arms defiantly. “She’s just a commoner pretending to be more than she is
“Just… stoja tusing that word,” I replied, nabbing my forehead. “You don’t know what she’s capable of. You don’t understand how powerful her family
“What does that matter?” Poppy retoried, her voice sharp. “She doesn’t belong in our world!
“She’s the daughter of the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, Poppy!” I exclaimed, unable to hold back my frustration any longer. “She’s not just anyone!”
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Poppy asked, her tone softening slightly. “Why should I care who she is?”
“Because it makes a difference!” I replied, calming down slightly. “If I had known her status, I would have treated her differently. I wasn’t thinking!”
“You should have been!” the shouted, fighting back tears. “I can’t believe you’re defending her after everything!”
“Poppy, it’s not about defending her. It’s about realizing I messed up!” I said, trying to reason with her. “You can’t just bully people because you think you’re better!”
“Maybe I should just leave,” she said quietly, glancing away. “If I can’t compete with her, what’s the point?”
I felt my heart sink. “You don’t have to compete, Poppy.” I said gently. “We’re supposed to work together.”
“I don’t know if I can do that, she admitted, her voice trembling. “I feel like I’m losing you.”
Then you need to talk to Joanne,” I urged, hoping she would see reason. “You can’t keep pushing her away like this.”
“Maybe I will,” Poppy replied, her chin lifting slightly. “But what do I say? I’m not good at this.”
“Just be honest,” I suggested. “Tell her you’re sorry. It might help!”
Poppy took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. “Okay, I’ll try,” she said, her voice steadier now.
“Good But first. I need to talk to Joanne,” I said, glancing back inward the party. I could see her laughing with her friends, and my stomach twisted. “There’s something I need to clear up.”
“Goon,” Poppy said, gesturing for me to move. “I’ll be right here. Just try not to make things worse!
With a god, I started toward Joanne’s table. As I approached. I noticed her smiling brightly, her laughter ringing through the air. It felt like I was walking into a storms. “What am I going to say?” I whispered to myself.
she called out as I got closer, her eyes sparkling
“Can we talk?” Lasked, trying not to sound too teise
“Sure, she replied, peering curiously at my expression. “What’s on your mind!”
“Privately
She looked at her friends who were well wasted and sighed he
before coming with me to a small room.
“I wanted to know why you didn’t tell me about your status. I mean, y
you’re the daughter of the Alpha! That’s important information!” I said, my
1/2
Chapter 21
ally!” she said, looking surprised but I knew it was pret
it was pretense. “I didn’t t
think it mattered to you.
fot to me now.” 1 admitted “I was clueless about how powerful you are and the respect you deserve. I treated you carelessly, and I’m
“I didn’t know I needed to remind you, she replied, her expression shifting. “I thought you’d treat me right from the beginning”
unudd have,” I said, my heart racing. “I’ve been stupid to not understand what that meant for you.”
“Do you think it changes anything?” she asked, crossing her arms,
“It does: I want another chance,” I replied, stepping closer. “I want to find out who you are beyond what happened between us.”
“You think I can just forget the past?” she asked, her eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“No, and I don’t expect you to.” I said carnestly. “But I want to try and make things right.”
“Make them right?” she echoed, looking deep into my eyes. “How?”
“I don’t know yet.” I admitted. “But l’in here, watching
hing you, and I can’t ignore how amazing you are anymore. It was so stupid to let
t you g
Joanne paused, and I could feel the weight of the moment stretching between us. “What does that even mean for us?” she finally asked, her voice
“It means I want
nt to see if we can rebuild what we had. I want a chance to show you I’ve changed,” I said, hoping she could see I was being serious.
“Really?” she asked, her tone shifting again. “You want to start over?”
“Yes,” Lreplied, my heart pounding in anticipation. Tut I want you to be honest with me too. If we’re going to make this work, there can’t be any
“I can agree to that,” she said slowly, a hint of a smile forming on her lips. “But what about Poppy?”
“Poppy I’ll figure that part out too,” I replied, feeling conflicted. “But I need to focus on what I really want.”
“Which is she prompted, her curiosity piqued.
“Which is you,” I said, stepping even closer, the words coming out more confidently now,
“Collins…” she started, but I didn’t let her finish. I took the last step forward, closing the distance between us, and leaned in slowly, almost hesitantly. but then I kissed her.
As we pulled away, breathless, she looked into my eyes, searching for something. “What was that?” she asked, a slight blush creeping onto her
checks
“Just a taste of what could be,” I replied.
“Wow, okay,” she said, looking both surprised and pleased. “That… was unexpected.”
